By the time I walked up to the entrance of Santa Ana's Observatory around 9 p.m. Friday night, there was a line snaking a couple hundred people deep through the parking lot.

But that turnout wasn't for the punk band I came to see, Titus Andronicus, headlining this night in the venue-within-a-venue, the Constellation Room; the hefty queue was assuredly for dubstep DJ Rusko's main room set. Still, the former outfit's sparse audience didn't prevent good ol' raucous rock from prevailing by positively drowning out any inkling of thumping bass from the rave just one wall away.

Following the release of its widely acclaimed sophomore album, The Monitor, in 2010, Titus was pegged by several critics as a rowdier-than-usual indie-rock band. And perhaps rightly so – the album featured a plethora of instruments and guest musicians (more than two dozen, mostly fellow East Coast players) with some songs' cacophonies of sounds and voices even evoking a mighty orchestral feel.

Yet, as they have proved time and again live – at Coachella a couple years back and even more forcefully at Friday night's intimate gig – Titus is a punk band in ethos and delivery. Nothing confirmed this more than the stripped-down, return-to-roots material selected from the band's latest disc, Local Business, released Oct. 22.

After the rousing debut-album intro track “Fear and Loathing in Mahwah, NJ,” TA dipped into to the first of those fresh cuts, the emotionally revealing “My Eating Disorder” (frontman Patrick Stickles struggles with “selective eating disorder,” which causes an aversion to certain foods based on texture, odor and sometimes color).

That song, followed closely by two more new ones, “Ecce Homo” and “Still Life with Hot Deuce on Silver Platter,” rang out like Sex Pistols classics with their raspy shouted verses and high-throttle, guitar-driven choruses. Yet, as with the non-album new track “I Got a Date Tonight” and a more or less equal smattering of earlier choices, the overall mix remained wholly distinct thanks to Stickles' frequent infectious, pop-toned solos.

[caption id="attachment_100146" align="alignnone" width="580"] Titus Andronicus at the Constellation Room in Santa Ana. Photo: David Hall, for the Register[/caption]

Those were often executed in a series metal-inspired hammer-ons, further highlighting – along with the glaring absence of any keys or violins, typical of past tours – this return to form, with invigorating emphasis placed on layer upon layer of distorted, crunchy guitars (every song featured three intertwining axe lines).

Titus proved rowdy throughout, though audience members remained mostly reserved – a stark contrast to the en masse moshing, crowd-surfing and stage-diving that prevailed for the entirety of hardcore opener, Ceremony.

That group clearly had something of a home-team advantage (they hail from Sonoma County). But toward the end of TA's set, during a four-song, all-Monitor run, some of that spirited mayhem crossed over, culminating into formidable mosh pits during “A More Perfect Union” and “Titus Andronicus Forever” in particular.

Clearly the crowd's delayed burst of excitement was enough to satiate Stickles & Co. – the vocalist said as much in brief remarks preceding the night's final, kick-you-in-the-teeth ballad, “The Battle of Hampton Roads.”

“This has been a very memorable show,” Stickles said, adding wholeheartedly, “Go see Misfits and Dropkicks Murphys here in a couple weeks.”

Gotta admire that spirit of punk rock brotherhood – something Titus Andronicus consistently contributes to in authentic and exhilarating fashion. Can't wait for the next album.

Fear and Loathing in Mahwah, NJ / My Eating Disorder / My Time Outside the Womb / Joset of Nazareth's Blues / Richard II / Ecce Homo / Still Life with Hot Deuce on Silver Platter / Titus Andronicus / I Got a Date Tonight / In a Big City / Upon Viewing Oregon's Landscape with the Flood of Detritus / No Future Part One / No Future Part Three: Escape from No Future / A More Perfect Union / Titus Andronicus Forever / The Battle of Hampton Roads

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